1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to tools for ornamenting, or decorating, a workpiece, such as a piece of wood; and, more particularly, to a device which cooperates with a conventional router to carve decorative patterns in the surface of a workpiece in a quick, accurate and reproducible manner, with but a minimum of effort.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Jentsch U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,309 and Ritter U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,368 disclose router attachments which guide the router bit in a horizontal plane to provide patterns having numerous different configurations in plan but which are uniform in depth. That is to say, the patterns are characterized by recesses having only two degrees of freedom of motion.
Metting U.S. Pat. No. 2,307,464 provides an attachment for a circular saw including a series of vertically contoured templates which cause the sawblade to rise and fall in response to the contours. This tool, however, cuts only in a series of parallel passes with the remaining ridges of material subsequently cut away by means of a chisel, gouge or other suitable tool, to provide a replica of a curved surface used as a pattern for a stamping die. Metting's tool is highly specialized, is limited to repetitive parallel cuts by a circular saw, and the work piece eventually ends up as a smoothly undulating pattern for use in molding a die.
Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,095 discloses a hand plane with an arcuate blade which is alternately lifted and lowered by an eccentric rolling assembly connected to the front end of the plane. The blade gouges chips from a lumber workpiece, giving it a hand hewn effect. In contradistinction to applicant's device, which makes carefully structured patterns, Johnson's attachment has as its sole purpose the creation of random gouges simulating the effect obtained by using an adze.
In summary, the prior art lacks the three-dimensional capabilities of applicant's device which enables the user to create a multitude of carefully sculptured decorative ornamentations on a work piece with a router having three degrees of freedom of motion.